Socialists silent over new Commission president[fr][de] 

Socialists and social democrats from across Europe had gathered in Madrid to unveil a common manifesto for the 2009 European elections. Buoyed by the fallout from the financial crisis, confidence among delegates was high enough for party leaders to predict that the PES would be the largest group in the European Parliament after the June elections (see EurActiv 02/12/08). The PES currently holds 215 seats to the centre-right EPP-ED Group's 284. 

However, the failure to nominate a socialist candidate for the presidency of the incoming 2009 Commission overshadowed the otherwise positive proceedings of the Council. It was expected that the socialists would put forward a name for the presidency, on the basis that should they form a majority in the new Parliament, they would hold veto rights over the make-up of the new Commission. 

Yet, despite numerous PES delegates using their Madrid speeches to call on the party leadership to present a candidate, none was forthcoming. 

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, previously rumoured to be a potential candidate, told journalists that the issue would not be discussed until the party's next high-level meeting in February 2009. "I cannot give you any clear answers before February. I'm not saying 'no', I’m not saying 'yes'," he said, adding: "I don't like not saying anything, but that's the case." 

Prominent socialist prime ministers Jose Luis Zapatero (Spain) and José Socrates (Portugal) had thrown a spanner in the works in recent months, declaring that they would support a second term for current EPP-ED Commission President José Manuel Barroso. 

Responding to the Socialists' silence, the Union of European Federalists (UEF) claimed that the decision not to nominate a socialist candidate for president meant "that the socialists in fact accept the re-nomination of Mr. Barroso". 

"Considering the proximity of the European Parliament elections, the political parties send a mixed signal to the electorate if they effectively pre-empt the choice of Commission president before a single vote has been cast," said Andrew Duff, president of the Union of European Federalists. 

Privately, a number of PES delegates in Madrid expressed their dismay to EurActiv that their party leadership had thus far failed to present a candidate. "This issue is the elephant in the room," they said, on condition of anonymity. "Barroso is considered by many socialists to be the single most ineffective Commission president ever, and we need to present our own candidate to offer a viable centre-left choice to European voters."